A third of people have nothing saved for retirement

Aug. 18, 2014
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by Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY

by Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY

A third of people (36%) in this country have nothing saved for retirement, a new survey shows.

In fact, 14% of people 65 and older have no retirement savings; 26% of those 50 to 64 have nothing saved; 33%, 30 to 49; and 69%, 18 to 29, according to the survey of 1,003 adults, conducted for Bankrate.com.

"Regardless of age, there is no better time than the present to start saving for retirement," says Bankrate.com chief financial analyst Greg McBride, CFA. "The key to a successful retirement is to save early and aggressively."

Other recent research shows that many people aren't saving nearly enough for their golden years. About 36% of workers have less than $1,000 in savings and investments that could be used for retirement, not counting their primary residence or defined benefits plans such as traditional pensions, and 60% of workers have less than $25,000, according to a telephone survey of 1,000 workers from the non-profit Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald and Associates.

Many people realize that they are not on track in saving for retirement, and the two most important reasons they give for not saving more are cost of living and day-to-day expenses, says Jack VanDerhei, the institute's research director.

Other findings from the Bankrate.com survey:

â?¢ Some folks are starting to tuck away retirement savings at an earlier age. About 32% of people ages 30 to 49 started saving for retirement in their 20s compared with 16% of people in that age group who began in their 30s. And 24% of people 50 to 64 began starting in their 20s vs. 21% who began in their 30s.

About 16% of people 65 and older started saving for retirement in their 20s; 15% in their 30s; 17% in their 40s.

â?¢ 32% of people are less comfortable with their overall savings now than they were a year ago; 16% are more comfortable.

â?¢ 24% are less comfortable with their debt than they were a year ago; 23% are more comfortable.

â?¢ Job security, net worth and overall financial situation are areas in which people have seen improvement over one year ago.